Celebrating Cultures across the University of Birmingham
Modern Languages student Sophia Akbari tells us how Eid-al-fitr is celebrated in Islam As the end of Ramadan draws closer, Muslims all over the world will celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, one of the religion’s main festivals. Eid-al-Fitr translates to ‘the feast of breaking the fast’. The fast, during the time of Ramadan, represents one of the five … Continue reading “Modern Languages student Sophia Akbari tells us how Eid-al-Fitr is celebrated”
Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was formally canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Divina disponente, which concluded the canonization process that the Sacred Congregation of Rites instigated after a petition in 1869 from the French Catholic hierarchy. Although pro-English clergy had Joan … Continue reading “Centenary of the canonization of Joan of Arc, Maid of Orléans”
Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820-13 August 1910) Florence Nightingale was a British social reformer and statistician and the pioneer of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. She became an icon of Victorian culture, especially … Continue reading “Bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale”
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. The ship took part in celebrations of the coronation of King George IV. … Continue reading “Bicentenary of the launch of HMS Beagle”
75th commemoration of the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen – one man’s story, Stanley’s story Stanley, Rachel Posaner’s grandfather, was part of the British forces involved in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Share his story. The annual National Commemoration of Yom Hashoah was planned for the 20th of April 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the end … Continue reading “Stanley’s Story”
VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War Two of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday 8 May 1945. The British public is being urged to share stories and memories of those who lived through the war to mark this year’s VE … Continue reading “VE Day 8 May”
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (22 April 1870– 21 January 1924), better known as Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist who served as head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia and then the wider Soviet Union became a one-party communist … Continue reading “Sesquicentennial anniversary of the birth of Lenin”
William Wordsworth (7 April 1770–23 April 1850) was born in what is now named Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, Cumberland in the Lake District. He was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). Wordsworth’s magnum opus is … Continue reading “Sestercentennial of the birth of William Wordsworth”
Ravi Shankar KBE (born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury), 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012), whose name is often preceded by the title Pandit (Master) and ‘Sitar maestro’, was an Indian musician and a composer of Hindustani classical music. He was the best-known proponent of the sitar in the second half of the 20th century and influenced many … Continue reading “Centenary of the birth of Ravi Shankar”
Quincentenary of the death of Raphael (1483-1520) Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (known as Raphael) was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Despite his early death at 37, he left a … Continue reading “Quincentenary of the death of Raphael”
